By Jaime Harper
Have you ever been truly desperate for something? If so, what were you willing to do in order to obtain the object of your desires? If you were truly desperate, you would have stopped at nothing.
To be desperate, in a spiritual sense, means to be without the hope of peace. There are various examples of desperation in the Bible. One such example can be observed in Mark 5:25-34 with the woman who had a hemorrhage. She had done everything she could do and had spent every cent that she had in order to be healed but only became worse. In her desperation for peace, she came to Christ and was healed.
Without hope, all that is left within us is emptiness and pain that quickly leads to anxiety and depression. Lamentations 3:17-20 is an example for us in that, once we get to that point in our lives, we too can forget happiness, lose hope, meditate on the pain, and become bitter within ourselves. We also begin to remember only the negative parts of the past and the hopeless perception of the future, to the extent that even our souls bow down within us. In order to fill the void within, we will turn to the world in search for peace. Some of the avenues that we take in order to find it are sex, pornography, co-dependence, chat rooms, food, shopping, gambling, online games, a bottle, a bag, a pill, or even violence.
If we cope with our despair through ungodly practices, we will pay the consequences for our actions and will still be left with the void unfilled. Sadly, sometimes the payoff of temporary peace seems greater than the pain that is yet to come. Eventually, mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual anguish set in, giving way to anxiety, deeper depression, anger, regret, and guilt all because we seek for peace in the wrong places.
Christians are not immune to a temporary lapse of reason, nor are we incapable of being swayed to a temporal peace by the evil one. Satan is extremely well versed in reminding us where we have been. He wants us to stay in the afflictions, wanderings, wormwood, and bitterness of the past in order to keep us separated from joy and peace that can only be found in Christ. Even though we may become separated from His joy and peace, we can never be separated from His love (Romans 5:6-11: 8:35-39). God has never given up on us, and He never will.
It is easy to hear and believe the lies of Satan if we forget Truth. We must reawaken our memory and see where true peace resides. Lamentations 3:21-22 says, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.”
In Luke 15:4-7, the shepherd left the ninety-nine to go after the one that was lost. Can you remember a time when the same was done for you? In Luke 15:11-25, the father ran to the prodigal with open arms welcoming him home! How much greater will it be when the Father welcomes one of His own back into the fold? The situations that bring despair upon us are temporal, but God’s grace is eternal. Unfortunately, there is a burden even with His grace. Although it allows for the removal of the guilt of the past, the past itself is still with us and cannot be removed. Yet, we can allow it to glorify God.
All too often, we look at our life and see our story. In reality, it isn’t our story at all––it is His. We must learn to deal with our past differently. We have to move past the regret, shame, and guilt that the world has left us with and look forward to what is yet to come. His compassions never fail; “they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I have hope in Him’” (Lamentations 3:23-24, NASB).
If we would continually seek God with as much desperation as we have sought after the temporal peace of the world, our hope and faith would be unshakeable. A promise has been made to us: “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:25). This promise is true, yet we worry so much about yesterday, today, and tomorrow that we forget to hope.
Are you desperate for peace? Only Christ can fill the void that the world has left within you. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus..”
What are you willing to give up in order to experience the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension?
Jaime Harper is the recovery ministry leader at the Mount Juliet church of Christ in Mount Juliet, TN, and the founder of Recovery––Through Christ. For more information visit http://www.recoverythroughchrist.org/
